ŠKODA achieves record results in May

14/06/2017

​ŠKODA's deliveries increased by 2.4% to 99,000 units in May (May 2016: 96,700 vehicles), making it the best May in the company's history. The traditional Czech brand made significant gains particularly in Europe and India. ŠKODA promises further growth impetus from the current SUV campaign: The ŠKODA KODIAQ – the brand's first new SUV model – has been successfully launched on the markets; 7500 units were delivered to customers in May. The new compact ŠKODA KAROQ SUV, which was presented to the public for the first time in Stockholm in May, will follow in the fourth quarter of 2017.

“ŠKODA continued along the path to success in May,” says Werner Eichhorn, ŠKODA Board Member for Sales and Marketing. “Despite the challenging market conditions in some regions, we were able to sell more vehicles last month than in any May in our history. We are particularly pleased with the successful market launch of the ŠKODA KODIAQ. The first vehicle of our SUV campaign has been very well received by our customers.”

ŠKODA is expanding its model range through a comprehensive SUV campaign as part of Strategy 2025. The first representative is the ŠKODA KODIAQ, 17,100 of which have already been delivered since its market launch in March 2017. 7500 of the brand’s first large SUV were delivered in May alone, confirming the steadily growing demand. The ŠKODA KAROQ will further strengthen the brand's position in the important SUV segment. The new compact SUV was introduced in Stockholm in May. More than a million spectators watched the world premiere via live stream. The market launch of ŠKODA KAROQ will take place at the end of this year.

In Western Europe, ŠKODA surpassed last year’s result in May with 42,800 deliveries (+4.1%) (May 2016: 41,100 vehicles). In Germany – the brand’s strongest individual European market –ŠKODA confirmed the excellent result from last year with 15,500 vehicles delivered. The brand also recorded strong sales growth in the markets of France (2300 vehicles, +13.5%), the UK (7000 vehicles, +5.9%), Italy (2600 vehicles, +27.5%), Sweden (1600 vehicles; +8.5%), Austria (2200 vehicles, +5.9%) and the Netherlands (1400 vehicles, +12.7%).

In China, the brand’s largest individual market, ŠKODA delivered 22,700 vehicles (May 2016: 24,200 vehicles; -6.1 %). This decline is mainly due to the ongoing revision of the model range. ŠKODA had expected this trend and anticipates a normalisation of demand in the second half of the year.

ŠKODA can report a positive result in India, where the manufacturer’s sales increased to 1300 – 34.1% up on last year (May 2016: 1000 vehicles).

ŠKODA deliveries in May 2017 (in units, rounded off, according to model; +/- in percent compared to May 2016):

ŠKODA has once again proved itself to be the brand to beat by dominating the 2018 DieselCar and EcoCar Top 50. The Czech brand was named as class winner in no fewer than four key categories and topped more sectors than any other manufacturer in the influential annual chart.

Motoring review site Honest John has named the ŠKODA KODIAQ its overall 2018 Car of the Year – adding another trophy to the Czech SUV’s remarkable collection. In addition to awarding the KODIAQ its highest honour, Honest John website visitors also named the SUPERB as its Family Car of the Year for the second year in succession.

ŠKODA AUTO continues its growth course. Never before has the Czech traditional brand achieved such a strong result in terms of sales revenue, deliveries and operating profit between January and March. The manufacturer delivered 316,700 vehicles worldwide (+ 11.7%). Operating profit increased by 5.3% to 437 million euros in the same period, while sales revenue increased by 4.9% to 4.5 billion euros.

ŠKODA owners can check the status of their car with just their voice thanks to the integration of ŠKODA Connect and Amazon’s Alexa virtual personal assistant. The technology works across all devices equipped with Alexa Voice Services and allows owners to interact with their vehicles on a completely new level.

ŠKODA UK continued to grow into 2018 with sales remaining buoyant despite the general decline in the new car market. The brand achieved a joint-record first quarter market share of 3.01 per cent (first recorded in 2014), up 0.29 per cent over the same period last year with 21,611 cars finding new homes. ŠKODA also delivered its best-ever March market share of 2.81 per cent, up from 2.43 per cent in 2017, registering 13,300 cars.